Not Bad Thing: A Studio of Her Own

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

A Studio of Her Own

Lisbeth and Jamie Silvestri of Artvan

Lisbeth and her helper, Sarah Montegut (in the doorway), and her house manager, Holly Spence.

Jamie explaining some of the materials that need tending...

A couple of weeks ago Lisbeth started volunteering for Artvan, a travelling arts thearpy program here in midcoast Maine, spearheaded and run by the highly creative, big hearted, energetic Jamie Silvestri. Jamie showed Lisbeth around the supply building - Lis and her helper will be coming in weekly to help keep the space clean and organized. In exchange for this, Jamie has offered a workspace for Lisbeth in the building. So now Lis is in the process of creating her own studio, a place to go and make her beautiful cut paper mandalas, masks, and other whimsical creations. So good.

2 comments:

KaHollySeptember 29, 2010 at 2:17 PM
What a wonderful opportunity for Lisbeth! wow!
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Susan BeaucheminNovember 9, 2010 at 10:44 AM
Very good! tend to those pipe cleaners!
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Lisbeth's Blue Bird Angels Mandala

My daughter Lisbeth suffered a traumatic brain injury when she contracted a viral illness in 1988 at the age of six, and she continues to be challenged by multiple difficulties including uncontrolled seizures, behavioral disturbances, learning disabilities and developmental delay. Despite these challenges, Lisbeth's mighty spirit and creativity are remarkably intact. She creates extraordinarily beautiful cut paper snowflakes - hundreds of them (it is ironic that a cluster of seizures is called a "flurry...") and like real snowflakes, each one is unique. Lisbeth sometimes refers to her creations as "brains," which is poignant, for in the making of each snowflake/mandala, it is as if she is recreating her brain. Lisbeth sees figures, animals, and objects in the cutout shapes of each one of her designs, and says that these are what the brain is thinking!